Tuesday 28 January 2014

The Costumes of Cranford~Miss Deborah

Miss Deborah's clothes are very plain and reflect her serious nature. They are definitely much less colourful and pretty than Miss Matty's.

In this picture she is wearing a plain gray-brown gown with a flat pointed collar and a button front. She wears a black shawl and her usual white cap. Elizabeth Gaskell described Miss Deborah's bonnet as a 'jockey-cap' and it definitely looks like one. See below.

It doesn't have a very extended brim and is very loosely tied.
This is a shamefully short post but unfortunately I couldn't find any pictures of any more of her clothes!
I hope you enjoyed reading!

Tuesday 21 January 2014

The Costumes of Cranford--Miss Matty

Hey everyone! Today I saw that I now have 6 followers! Yay! I know it's not many but it's a step up from only 4! ;-) So, I'll get to the point and start my blog series!

Miss Matty Jenkyns has her own style of dress as do all the ladies of Cranford. Most of her gowns appear to be designed in a Regency style, whereas Miss Pole's gowns, for example, are longer-waisted with bigger sleeves. This suggests that perhaps Miss Matty grew up in the Regency era and is accustomed to its fashions, while Miss Pole was a young lady during the Romantic period (eg Wives and Daughters) and prefers to dress in the style of her youth. I think Miss Matty's gowns are charming and show her sweet and gentle nature. I will look at a few in detail as well as her caps, bonnets and shawls.

I think this blue print may be my favourite of her dresses. She usually wears it with a large fichu and a pale blue belt. It matches particularly well with her straw bonnet with blue ties. 

In this picture we see Miss Matty's purple patterned gown. I think the pattern is gold or yellow, but it's hard to tell in this photo. Again, she wears a large fichu. Notice the difference in length between hers and Mary's.

Sometimes she also wears a short gray woolen shoulder cape over it. It looks like a plain garter knit with a bit of a ruffle at the edges.

This is my favourite of Miss Matty's shawls. It is a pale brown stripe and very large and drapey. I love the way the Cranford ladies wear their shawls.

Here is one of her caps. The ruffle frames her face and the cap is tied below her chin, while the back is a round puff shape.

I like this cap of hers the best. I couldn't find a picture of the back, nor one of her widow's cap, which I also like.I couldn't find her black mourning gown either, so this post is not very detailed!
Hope you enjoyed!

Thursday 16 January 2014

New Blog Series

Hey! So, I've been running out of ideas what to post. :-/ And I decided to do a blog series costume study type thing and I will be posting about the costumes of:

CRANFORD!!!!

The women's costumes mainly, but it will not be an exhaustive list. I will post about the wardrobes of:
Miss Deborah
Miss Matty
Mary Smith
Lady Ludlow
Mrs Forrester
Miss Pole
Miss Tomkinson
Caroline Tomkinson
Mrs Rose
Sophy Hutton
Lizzy/Helen Hutton
Martha
Dr. Harrison
Jessie Brown

I've also just finished making my Regency dress for an English Country Dance in Feb. (Can't wait, eh Laura King!!;-)) and I will post some pictures when I Get the Time.
Bye everyone!!!!